


Haze and daze

by Naelhinn



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Post War-phase
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:00:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22058191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Naelhinn/pseuds/Naelhinn
Summary: Five years after the end of the bloody war that left Foodlan in ruin, during the celebrations of the unification of the continent by the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, Dimitri is waiting for one person, and one person only.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 1
Kudos: 45





	Haze and daze

**Author's Note:**

  * For [NekoLiliah](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=NekoLiliah).



> This text was written as my 2019 fe3h project hub Secret Santa's gift for NekoLiliah! I hope you like it and pardon me for being slightly late! Happy holidays!

He bowed and changed partner, turning to Ingrid. The knight smiled to him and slowly they started to dance as the music went on. She didn’t say anything; she knew what was on his mind. Despite all the music, the blazing lights, the magic wisps that leaped between the chandeliers and swirled around the dancers, despite the smile his face wore, his eyes told another story. He was not really there. Not really with them. His mind wandered in fantasies known to him alone.

All around him was blurred and muffled. They had all come, except for her. Her that he would have given the world for a minute with. He hadn’t seen her since his coronation, but her swords he remembered clearly. _If you ever need me, I will be here._ He had never sent her any message, but neither had she. They both had had a lot to do. The peace was fragile and it was their task to prevent further ruin and crumbling. Surely there were many things more important than this celebration, many things that required immediate response, many things more pleasant than this. Yet he had hoped she’d come, be it only to help him go through the day. It had been too long.

Only once the music died for a moment did they hear the rising sound of the crowd outside. It wasn’t like it had been all day long, accompanied by cheers and songs. It was a buzzing sound of excitement and wonder. Dimitri made his way to the heavy doors. All the guests that had been specially invited by the king himself to the fifth celebration of the unification of Fodlan were gathered around the windows, looking in awe. With each and every step, Dimitri went faster. His heart was pounding and he lacked the courage to shut it up, to blow away what little spark of hope still lit it.

The doors roared and creaked under his arms, but when they were open, a cold wind blew in and he too looked in awe and wonder. On the plaza before the palace, surrounded from a distance by an enormous crowd, was a small troop of knights of Seiros, led by the archbishop. Around her, wisps had gathered and sparkles of magic flew, bursting away in flashes of light. Yes, it had been too long. She had changed, grown more serene and silently great. She had changed and for a split second Dimitri cursed himself for doubting her.

“It has been a long time, King Dimitri.”

His arms fell on the side of his body. She smiled and walked toward him. In a whisper he answered.

“Yes, it has indeed.”

Next to her he felt small. He felt the gazes turned toward them. He grabbed the hand she gave him and let himself sink in memories as his fingers grazed over the scars of Byleth. Some of them were new, unknown to him. She… no, they had been busy, he thought as her eyes met his. He too had gathered some new scars.

She had changed, yet seemed the same, as if she hadn’t aged at all. He couldn’t quite put his finger on what felt so weird, but as he returned to the eyes of the archbishop, he saw that they were still as kind and deep.

“I have been waiting for our reunion for a long time. May I take your arm? I know you must surely be exhausted after your journey to Firhiad, but there are things I wish to tell you that cannot wait any longer.”

She nodded and followed him. Through the hall they went under the silent gaze of the guests. All felt that something was at hand and none dared even breathe. Slowly the musicians started playing again and both the king and the archbishop disappeared into the corridors of the palace. Byleth followed silently, but as soon as a door was shut between the hall and them, she stopped and stared at Dimitri.

“Dimitri. Why such a rush? Do you fear I might disappear during the night?”

The king of Faerghus looked away. Byleth caressed his cheek and he started mumbling, unsure:

“I… felt lost without you. At some point, I think I lost hope, I thought you wouldn’t come.”

He chuckled and freed himself from the archbishop, who stood silent.

“Five whole years… It has been five whole years since we killed Edelgard professor.”

She covered his mouth with her hand.

“Do not call me that. Maybe I once was, but today, you are not my student, and I am not your professor.”

She uncovered his mouth. For a moment he was silent too, gathering his thoughts and trying his best to put in words what he felt.

“You are right, of course. I just… happened to be dazed by your apparition. This is why I fled the ball. It dug memories of when we were at the academy. You remember the ball, right?” he giggled and let himself slip to the ground, his back against the wall. “This is why I fled. I felt like I did back then. Overwhelmed. You changed so much… yet so little. For a moment, I thought it had all been a dream, a long, long dream I was just waking from. I thought… I thought all that happened didn’t happen.”

She sat next to him and took his hands. Dimitri was trembling and in his eyes, she could see tears beginning to glitter. She hugged him and rested his head on her shoulder.

“I am glad this was not a dream Dimitri. Glad we could get you back, glad this is who you turned out as.” She stopped and looked at him. Tears were now running down his cheeks. “Despite all the horrors, despite all the pain, despite all that happened… all that I once wished I could erase from time itself… despite all of that, I wouldn’t give this world for another one. The ordeals you went through, I don’t want to have them disappear. The scars that mark your body, I don’t want them gone. I want only for you to see how fine a man you have grown through them.”

She brushed his hair as she talked and slowly the sobs died away. Then Dimitri rose and gave Byleth his arm.

“I would like to show you something.”

She nodded and stood up as well, following Dimitri as he made his way in the corridors of the palace. She lost count after the fifth turning point and the third door. The corridor they were in was dark, candles from another age fixed like ghosts to the walls. She snapped and a spark burst out of her finger, setting the candles ablaze and revealing an old wall, crackled and crumbling here and there. Eventually, Dimitri stopped. There was a small wooden door that barely stood in place. Gently he pushed it and Byleth followed him.

“I hadn’t come here for far too long” he whispered.

It was a small interior garden with one marble bench that stood in the dark. In the middle of the garden, Byleth cold see the shape of a tree. From what she could guess, the garden hadn’t been properly looked after for a long while. Yet something felt off. The tree stood tall, and all over the garden she could guess there were flowers.

Dimitri looked into the sky and then turned to Byleth.

“I would have preferred if the sky hadn’t been so determined to hide the moon away from us, but may I ask you for some light?”

Byleth obliged. Sparks flew up, crackling and flashing, and suddenly, the whole garden was illuminated for a few seconds before, just like a lightning dies away, fading into the dark again. There was another burst of sparks and Byleth could admire the garden more in detail. The tree and the flowers were all covered in thick ice that shined and gleamed white with the magic light. A few sparks were caught on the end of the branches.

Before Byleth could ask what the place was, Dimitri was already taking her to the tree.

“This is some kind of secret garden I found when I was younger. I used to go there when I was all alone. It is most beautiful when moonlight lights it up. I believe Ingrid once told me about a legend which tells how before Firhiad was built, there was a grove that served as a sacred place of union.”

He laughed and added:

“Of course, I don’t know if any of this is true but, even if it is not, I always felt this place was particular. You are the first one I could ever show it to. The other one… I lacked the time.”

The sparks died and a cold breeze blew in. The heavy coat Dimitri wore gently flew with it. Byleth wrapped up in it, resting her body against Dimitri, who blushed and mumbled a few words. For a while they stood silently there, together. Time seemed to have frozen, and the rare stars that could be seen above them shined brightly, until a dimly coloured haze starter creeping down from the walls. Byleth and Dimitri looked alarm, only to be reassured when they saw it was only the same wisps the School of Sorcery of Firhiad had produced for the festivities of the day. Their came around them and started dancing happily, casting their coloured light over the frozen plants, setting them ablaze with splendour and beauty. Inspired by the wisps, Dimitri took a step back, bowed and asked Byleth:

“Shall we dance?”

And Byleth to answer, taking his arm with a smile:

“We shall, and again until dawn rises if so you please, and the nights to come as well.”


End file.
